One type of treatment for an oil or gas well is referred to as well fracturing or a well “frac.” The operator connects an adapter to the upper end of a wellhead member such as a tubing head and pumps a liquid at a very high pressure down the well to create fractures in the earth formation. The operator also disburses beads or other proppant material, also known as frac media, in the fracturing fluid to enter the cracks to keep them open after the high pressure is removed. This type of operation is particularly useful for earth formations that have low permeability but adequate porosity and contain hydrocarbons, as the hydrocarbons can flow more easily through the fractures created in the earth formation.
To introduce the frac media into the formation, high pressure pumps typically mounted on trucks, are employed at a well site. Frac lines are connected to the pumps and connected to the wellhead. The pressure employed during the frac operation may be many times the natural earth formation pressure that ordinarily would exist. For example, the operator might pump the fluid at a pressure of 8,000 to 9,000 psi. The normal pressure that might exist in the wellhead might be only a few hundred to a few thousand psi. Because of this, the frac lines experience high pressures that can be dangerous to personnel and destructive to equipment. Pressure relief valves are thus used to relieve pressure in the frac lines. However, the pressure relief valves may topple due to the pressure in the frac line. Improvements to the stability of the pressure relief valve are sought.